Category Archives: civil

Closest Yet on the 777-300ER Gear

You might not think a really windy day was going to be a great time to head out and take photos with a long lens hand held. This certainly is not ideal but there are some advantages that a really windy day can bring. The purpose of the trip was to catch the new Virgin 787-9 service coming in to SFO on a Sunday afternoon when I didn’t have anything else planned. While the wind was very strong, the light was nice so I gave it a go. What I didn’t realize was that, while it was windy at home, it was really windy at SFO! Everything was operating on the 28s because the wind was above 30kts and gusting to well over 40kts. This also meant that departures got airborne quite quickly given that they started with over 30kts after zero takeoff roll!

The heavy jets were frequently airborne before the intersection of the runways and this included an Air France 777-300ER. Consequently, I was able to get a clearer view of the gear during rotation than I have managed before. Above are a still of the gear during rotation and also an animated GIF of the rotation in progress. I think I shall consider myself happy with this. It is the best I have got. Unless I get to spend some time out by the runway while one is departing, I doubt I will get a better chance than this.

United 757 Display

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You don’t often get to see an airliner maneuvering at low level. They tend to be up and away or approaching to land in a stable configuration. Each year at Fleet Week, united bring one of their airliners as part of the air show and it gets to be thrown around the bay, if not with abandon, at least with more vigor than is the norm for an airliner. In the past, the 747 has been the display aircraft of choice. Since I have been here, they have been using the 757.

The bay provides a nice backdrop for any display but one that uses a big airplane is well suited to the area since they have to maintain a reasonable distance from the shore at all times unless they are climbing out over the crowd. A combination of clean passes and gear and flaps deployed passes made for some good variety and some aggressive climb outs at high power and low weight were nice. Watching the plane turn over the Marin side of the bay was also pretty cool.

This may not be the most dynamic of air show performances but it has a novelty factor that makes it worth seeing and it certainly brought some variety to the show on the day. I’m just glad I got to see it this year. Last year they displayed on the day I was there but the low cloud base meant that we mainly heard them above the clouds but saw very little.

UPS Movements

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Boeing Field is a busy location for UPS. FedEx run their Seattle operations from SeaTac but UPS has made King County their location of choice. You get a busy period in the evening with arrivals and departures in a pretty narrow window. Provided there is evening light, you can get a lot of movements.

I have shot a bunch of their jets over the course of various visits. Usually I get them arriving and departing from the same location. I did get some familiar shots this time but I also decided to head to the other end of the field and shoot the departure head on. They do get airborne pretty quickly and climb quite fast so they rotate a long way off and are well above you by the time they cross the fence. Not ideal but still a bit of variety for me.

KLM 747

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I have posted a bit in the past on disappearing types and, in particular, the reductions in the number of 747s in service with airlines these days. Of course, there are still a number of carriers that are making use of the 747 and United is one that has a substantial number still in service. Operating from SFO, I see a lot of them if I am there. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also come into SFO. However, I was pleasantly surprised recently to see KLM bringing an example in to the airport. They have seasonal variation with their types. The MD-11s have given way to the A330s during the winter months but the summer still has sufficient demand to require the capacity of the 747. I imagine they will soon be making way for the A330s but, hopefully, next summer will mean they are back on the route. KLM are one of the few airlines that bucks the trend to boring color schemes so there are doubly welcome!

SeaTac Departures Over Boeing Field

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Boeing Field is closely aligned with the extended centreline from SeaTac. If you approach SeaTac from the north and sit on the left side of the plane, you can look almost straight down on the field. Similarly, if the departures are heading northerly, it routes nearly over Boeing Field. For most flights, they are already high enough that they are not a good photo target. The heavies provide some interest though.

First, they are bigger so a slightly easier thing to fill the frame with. More importantly, they tend to be a bit more leisurely in their climb rate so are a bit closer in as they pass over. While I won’t bother to shoot the majority of the passing traffic, the heavies will often get my attention – provided nothing else is happening in front of me. Here are some of the recent passers-by.

Erickson Aircraft Collection

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I attended a course recently that was held in Madras OR at the home of the Erickson Air Museum. This museum is a fantastic collection of vintage aircraft, some of which were used for the course, more of which will appear on this blog in due course. At various times while we were there, I had the opportunity to wander around the museum and see the collection. This included during the evening when a party was underway but which also meant they had some interesting illumination.

The majority of the aircraft are warbirds but not all of them. A Bellanca was present which is, to be generous, a most unusual looking aircraft. I would certainly have liked to have seen it outside had the opportunity arisen but that wasn’t to be. There was also a Martin Mauler which is an aircraft I had never heard of previously. It looks like a Skyraider but you could tell it was different. It was just hard to know what it was without checking the information on the display.

Madras is not on the trail for most people so I imagine the museum does not have a lot of people happening upon it. However, it is a nice facility with a great collection and a super bunch of people working there. If you like warbirds and vintage aircraft, it should definitely be visited at some point.

EC145

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The EC-145 is an helicopter I have yet to decide about. A bigger type than the EC-135, I am not sure it carries the extra size as gracefully as it could. It has a slightly bug-like look to it I think. The most recent updates have added a Fenestron to replace the tail rotor. That can sometimes be a good thing but on this type it seems like they have picked a slightly larger unit from the parts bin by mistake. The fin section seems pretty large. Even so, I am not totally against it. It certainly seems smooth and quiet as it flies by. This one did look kind of cool…

Charlie November

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The Isle of Wight may be a pretty small island but it has had a number of significant aerospace projects over the years. One of the most successful is the Britten Norman Islander. A twin piston aircraft, the Islander has been in production for decades and provides passenger and freight service all around the world. Developed and produced for many years in Bembridge, the history of the Islander is important to a lot of the local residents.

A group of them got together to recover and preserve the third Islander ever built. G-AVCN (or Charlie November) was the first production aircraft following on from the two prototypes, neither of which is still in existence. It was recovered in pieces from the Caribbean and returned to Bembridge for restoration. I worked with the project leader on a feature for GAR that can be read here.

My mum is involved in the project so she took me down to the restoration facility to take a look at the airframe as it currently looks. The fuselage is pretty much completed. Now the focus is on the restoration of the wing. They are also looking for the final location where the aircraft will be put on display. It is painted in the colors of Aurigny – an airline that has flown many Islander and Trislander aircraft over the years including Charlie November. Things were a little cramped for photography where the plane is at the moment but it was cool to check out a significant part of the Island’s aviation history.

Another JetStar for the Collection

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Regular followers of the blog who like aviation will know I have a soft spot for Lockheed JetStars. While my luck has not always been great in chasing them down, I have come across a few at various times. Hayward Airport is the home of a couple of them. There is one I have seen move through on a few occasions but I thought there was another based (or stored) on the field. At one point it seemed to be out in the middle of the ramp but, more recently, when I was flying in to Oakland, it appeared to have moved over to near the road.

I figured I would try and see it if I was passing by early in the day. Finally a chance came to do this and I stopped off en route back from Oakland. The plane was parked up conveniently close and the fence in front was not too high. I don’t recognize the registration as being one I have seen before so this is a good one to add. While I haven’t seen any sign of this plane moving, it could be blocked from tracking. It certainly looks to be in great condition which would seem likely if it was unused. Maybe I will catch it moving one day.

DC-7 Tanker

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I previously posted an item about the DC-7 tanker that was parked up on the Erickson ramp. Over the course of the few days we were there, this aircraft had a few visits from me. It’s positioning was not always ideal for what I wanted. The evening light was often great for photos but, sadly, the aircraft was almost exactly tail on to the setting sun. However, that did provide some silhouette options as well as playing with HDR to see if I could come up with something I liked.

One morning the sun came up as there was still some rain in the area. There was some good light on the nose for a while but the best option was the rainbow that formed in the background and was well aligned with the aircraft. I tried a variety of things over the days and some of those results are here. Of course, it would have been far more fun to see it in action!